How many times in the past year have you had 5 or more drinks in a day?

How many times in the past year have you had 5 or more drinks in a day?

Researchers at Boston Medical Center re-asked 286 patients who had undergone a lengthy previous test this question, suggested by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The answer appears to accurately detect those previously singled out as being an alcoholic about 79% of the time. The article doesn’t explicitly explain what it means if the answer is “once” versus “every weekend.”

So who are these people? Wikipedia states the NIAAA funds 90% of American research into drinking. Since 1970, it's been part of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, a government umbrella agency overseeing US$28B in biomedical research. The predecessor to the NIH was set up in 1887 as the Laboratory of Hygiene.

While asking a single question isn’t perfect, we’re told it’s a lot better than the alternative — not being screened at all. The NIAA believes that in a hospital setting, the traditional screening method is such a pain in the ass, doctors don’t bother with it. Asking a single question that gives an accurate assessment most of the time is better than a highly accurate assessment that isn’t given at all.

The gist of the study? You can better care for a patient if you know they’re a boozer.

1 out of every 10 elderly adults on Medicare is a drinker. Brandeis University concludes 9% engage in “unhealthy drinking” — more than 30 drinks per month or 4 or more a day. The NIAAA believes seniors haven’t clued in: you can’t drink like you used to. It suggests once you enter your silver age, ease up, bucko: from two drink minimum to two drink maximum. That’s because the body’s ability to metabolize booze decreases in your senior years.